The buzz in Tihar Jail: Young inmates to be taught beekeeping

“The officials of KVIC will train them. We have already set up the infrastructure for the training process,” KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena told The Indian Express.

Saxena said that besides beekeeping, inmates will also be taught how to make detergents, soaps, handmade paper and incense.

Saxena said the young inmates have a lot of potential and abundant energy, which will help them develop new skills. “I am confident that after training, they would not only get suitably employed, but they could also provide employment to several other inmates in their vocation,” he said.

Director General (Prisons) Sudhir Yadav said many wards at jail number 5 have been converted into vocational training blocks. Jail number 5 of Tihar is dedicated to prisoners between the ages of 18 and 21.

“These young inmates cast an extra responsibility on the jail administration, which has to act as a guardian to guide them and channelise their energy by stimulating them with innovative ideas, and provide them training accordingly. The training will be done with a view to stimulate young inmates with innovative ideas of vocational skills, to make them economically independent once they are released from prison,” said Yadav.

Yadav said that prisons nowadays were not viewed solely as a place for punishment, but more as correctional homes where people on the other side of the law are encouraged and facilitated in reformation and rehabilitation programmes. There are over 800 inmates lodged in 10 wards of Tihar’s jail number 5.